01.5.9. Punishment On Those Knowing God Requirement

Chapter 5ix - Punishment On Those Completely Knowing God’s Requirement

God is revealing His requirement against sinners because they have known completely that they are deserving of death: “Who knowing completely the requirement of God, that the ones practicing such things are deserving of death, not only are doing them, but are giving approval to the ones practicing them” (Romans 1:32 -translation). This verse is a summary of Romans 1:18-31. When God’s restraint is removed, all depraved humanity has left is debased instincts. They value corruption more than God, and they give approval with those who think and practice what they think and practice. What can be worse than wicked people admiring themselves in other wicked people?

One of the three important things about sinners in Romans 1:32 is that they know completely God’s requirement. What about those who say they do not believe in God? The light of reason that God gives to men to understand other things enables them to understand the existence of God (John 1:9). There is a subjective knowledge of God in every man (Romans 1:21). Existence itself does not demand a cause, but the coming into existence of that which was nonexistent demands a cause. Therefore, the universe owes its existence to a cause outside of itself. A man once began his argument against the existence of God by saying, “I am an atheist, God knows.” One who denies the existence of God is like a man who walks outside his home and declares no one lives there because he cannot see anyone inside. Furthermore, as there is no true atheist, there is a complete knowledge of God’s requirement in every person. The second of the three important things about sinners in Romans 1:32 is that every sinner knows that the ones practicing the things mentioned in Romans 1:21-31 are deserving of death. The relative pronominal adjective “who” (hoitines, nominative masculine plural of hostis, a combination of the pronouns hos, who, which, or what and tis, a certain one or someone) indicates that Paul was speaking of certain ones who had this general witness of God in them
(Romans 1:19-20) and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man and the creatures lower than man. Their rejection of God caused Him to give them over to the lusts of their hearts and a worthless mind (Romans 1:24-28). Consider the testimony of the repentant criminal who was hanged: “And one of the hanged criminals was blaspheming Him saying, If you are the Christ, save yourself and us. But answering, the other rebuking him said, Do you not fear God, since you are in the same judgment? And we indeed justly, for we receive things deserving of what we did; but this one did nothing wrong” (Luke 23:39-41 -translation). The testimony of everyone who stands before the white throne judgment of God will be “guilty as charged.” The last of the three important things about sinners in Romans 1:32 is that the ones sinning by giving approval to others practicing the same sins is the same as the wicked admiring themselves in other wicked people. The unregenerate love those who love them. Christ said to His disciples, “If you were of the world, the world would love its own...” (John 15:19 NASB). As none look with as much interest and pleasure at the works of art as artists, no one approves with so much pleasure the sins of others as the practicer of sin. The great concern of sinners is that evil may continue. It is said that Tiberius, the Roman emperor from 14 A.D. through 37 A.D., took particular pleasure in his old age in seeing other men do evil things